HighTower Advisors LLC Has $795,000 Holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 94.4%, owning only 4,437 shares after selling 74,540 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Nexstar, with Victory Capital Management raising its position by 611.5%, now owning 289,668 shares.
• Nexstar Media Group reported earnings of $3.06 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend payout of $1.86 per share, resulting in a 3.6% dividend yield.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 94.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock after selling 74,540 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 830.3% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 307 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 401 shares of the company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2,126.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 423 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 453 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 68.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 536 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NXST stock traded down $1.57 on Tuesday, reaching $202.96. 207,850 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 442,649. The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a one year low of $141.66 and a one year high of $223.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $190.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.65.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 11.90%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is presently 38.63%.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, insider Brett Jenkins sold 610 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $100,802.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,616 shares in the company, valued at $4,233,044. The trade was a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Rachel Morgan sold 329 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $54,367.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $350,660.50. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,543,502 over the last quarter. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on NXST shares. Benchmark raised their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $206.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Nexstar Media Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.00.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group, Inc operates as a diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports and entertainment content across the television and digital platforms in the United States. It owns, operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to various markets; and offers television programming services.